1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an improved ice-making apparatus and more particularly to an apparatus for producing a plurality of ice cubes in a variety of geometrically-shaped ice portions more quickly and more rapidly than heretofore possible in the prior art.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The various ice making systems of the prior art are extremely limited by the fact that the ice-making process (1) consumes a great deal of energy so that it is relatively expensive; (2) is relatively slow due to the time required to freeze the water into ice and the time required to release and empty the frozen ice cubes into a collection receptacle; and (3) the overall efficiency of the prior art systems is relatively low from any conventional standpoint.
For example U.S. Pat. No. 2,918,803 issued on Dec. 29, 1959 for an Automatic Ice Maker. This patent shows an ice-making apparatus which includes a tray which may be made from metal having a relatively high heat conductivity and which may be located in a heat exchange relationship with respect to an evaporating freezer chamber. The tray has a plurality of cavities therein which open to the tray which are shown as being formed in the general shape of a hemisphere. The cavities are shown as having flexible molds sealing the open ends thereof for normally conforming to the shapes of the cavities and enabling the frozen ice cubes to be ejected from the molds by inverting the tray.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 2,729,070 issued in 1956 for an Ice Cube Machine. This patent discloses an ice cube-making machine wherein the ice cubes are continually build-up by a coating of water applied to a refrigerated surface from a supply tank and wherein the excess water is returned to the supply tank for precooling the water. The receptacles for freezing the individual ice cubes are contained within the same unit housing the water supply, and the water is directed upwardly into the ice cube-containing cups, but no portion of the cup is in direct heat exchange relationship with any type of refrigerant means.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,559,414 shows a system wherein an ice cube is formed in a freezing receptacle and automatically released by the heat produced from hot compressed gas; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,941,379 shows an ice-making apparatus in which a thermal motor-operated device can be energized and deenergized at appropriate intervals to repetitively remove ice components from an ice mold and refill the mold following the completion of each freezing operation.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,259,066 was granted in 1941 on a Refrigerating Machine and this patent discloses cylindrical molds positioned within a block. Refrigerant moves through the coils in the block for freezing the water in the molds to make ice. Again, no direct contact is provided between the circulating refrigerant and the molds themselves.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,250,971 issued in 1941 for Refrigeration and shows a refrigerating system having an evaporator in heat exchange relationship with a body of water at a plurality of points and means to divert the liquid refrigerant selectively from a condenser to different points in the evaporator in order to freeze ice in different portions of a water tank.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,344,298 issued in 1982 for an Ice Cube-Forming Tray for an Ice-Making Machine; and the patent discloses an ice cube-forming tray which includes a plurality of side-by-side corrugated plates having alternate ridges and grooves wherein straight plates separate the corrugated plates from those which are not corrugated. Those not corrugated, instead of being straight, may be hollow, diamond-shaped devices for carrying the refrigerant through the apparatus for freezing the water in the compartments.
While the prior art discloses many features used in conventional ice-making systems to date. None of such systems teach a method and apparatus which solves substantially all of the problems of the prior art while avoiding the problems and inefficiencies thereof by producing a plurality of ice cube-forming pockets, cavities, or receptacles which are disposed on at least one surface of the conduit actually conducting both the refrigerant and the heating material therethrough so that the ice cubes are formed and released faster, since at least the bottom surface of the actual ice cube mold or receptacle extends into the hollow interior of the conduit and directly contacts the fluid being conducted therethrough.